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Prepared by:Richard G. Pazcoguin

UST Institute of Religion

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Every story needs a villain. In the story of the fallof man, it is the serpent which played the role.

The serpent symbolizes that evil does not comefrom within man but from outside.

The forbidden tree was described as attractive and its

fruit was good for eating. What appears to be beautiful

is not always good. Evil finds a way to be attractive,

man must be careful.

The serpent tricked the woman by saying You will not

die you will become like gods, knowing good and evil.

This is actually what the story meant by death- TO DIE ISTO BE WHAT ONE IS NOT. Man is man, God is God. If man

makes a god of himself, he denies himself, he rejects hisnature, he refuses to be who he is, he dies.

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The woman ate the fruit and gave some to her

husband.

This does not mean that women are evil and that thefirst sin was really done by the woman. New Testamentreferences would call this first sin the transgression of

Adam, never of Eve. The story, however, reflects the

male domination in the authors society. It will be

unacceptable then to have a story wherein it is the manand not the woman who sins first.

We do not really know what the first sin was, butevery sin, like what is depicted in the story,involves pride and disobedience.There was a prohibition but they still ate thefruit- DISOBEDIENCE.They deemed their decision to disobey God as

more valuable than Gods will PRIDE.

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They realized they were naked. Before sin, man acceptedhimself as he is. There was nothing to be ashamed of.When man ate the fruit, he rejected himself, he wanted tobe god. His guilt and shame is symbolized by hisrealization of his nakedness.

Adam blamed his wife, Eve blamed the serpent. Manalways try to justify his offenses, but he cannot escapethe consequences of his actions.

The FIRST GOOD NEWS: God has not given upon man, but man is incapable of savinghimself. He will send a SAVIORthe womansoffspring who will once and for all defeat thepower of evil. Jesus is this Good News. He isthe womans offspring. By his death and

resurrection, he conquered sin and death.

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Why are we held liable for something we did notdo? It has already been mentioned that we do

not know what exactly the first sin of man was.Was this first sin the original sin?

Sin is not limited to actions. Sin can be acondition- a condition that is contrary to Godswill. The first men will be liable for their sins, but

we inherit the effects of this sin somethingwhich God did not intend for us.

Original sin is the consequence of the first sina consequence that is shared by the entirehuman race.

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ORIGINATING SIN

The First SinfulAction of Humanity

ORIGINATED SINThe Sinful Conditionwhich we inherit as aconsequence of the

first sin

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Original sin is not a SOMETHING. Itis the ABSENCE OF SOMETHINGGods abundant life in us.

When man was created, Godsbreath was in him, but he disobeyedGod and lost Gods breath, because

of this, man cannot pass on Gods

breath to his descendants thus weneed baptism to receive sanctifying

grace.

When man was created, he lived anabundant life in paradise. But by hissin, he lost paradise, andconsequently, he deprives his

descendants of access to paradise.

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A womans greatest joy

is motherhood but

there is pain that goeswith childbearing.

A man finds fulfillment in

his word but there is

great hardship that goeswith working.

People want to live butdeath is inevitable.

These, and many other evils troubled the authors mind. THIS CANNOT BE

GODS WILL. Evil cannot come from God, EVIL IS THE ABSENCE OF GOD.

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PARADISE not a place but a symbol ofORIGINAL JUSTICEwhich is the state of mans

total happiness.

The author of the Yahwist Account of Creationsaw the different evils that were prevalent in hisworld. His faith tells him that his world is not whatGod envisioned it to be. So he thought of a

perfect world that existed before the advent of sin- PARADISE.

More than something we have lost, PARADISE issomething we have to regain. It is our on-goingproject as we joyfully await the future that is

projected by our past.

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Just as through one transgression

condemnation came upon us all, so

through one righteous act, acquittal and

life came to all. For just as through the

disobedience of one person, so through

the obedience of one, the many will be

made righteous. The law entered in so

that transgression might increase, grace

overflowed all the more, so that as sin

reigned in death, grace might also reign

through justification for eternal lifethrough Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Romans 5: 18-21

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Etienne Charpentier

HOW TO READ THE OLD TESTAMENTParis: Les Editions du Cerf, 1981

Luc Colla, CICM

THE LOVE STORY OF GOD AND HIS PEOPLEBagui: St. Louis University, 1984

Ariel Alvarez Valdes

THE BIBLE: Questions People Ask (Part 1)Quezon City: Claretrian Publications, 2002